Friend –

Pennsylvania's probation system is broken. Intended as an alternative to incarceration, probation actually feeds mass incarceration by keeping people on a continuous, drawn out cycle of restrictions and sometimes jail time.

Harrisburg politicians know that probation is a problem that desperately needs to be fixed. But their attempt to reform probation is once again falling desperately short, so much so that they might be making it worse with their latest legislation. And they might vote on their bill within days.

This bill is so bad that ACLU-PA is opposing it. Here's why:

• The bill creates a new debtors' probation. A person who hasn't fully paid their restitution, including to a corporation, can be on this new probation indefinitely, with no consideration for their ability to pay.
• The bill puts no limits on how long a person can be on probation. Pennsylvania is one of just seven states with no cap on the length of a probation sentence.
• The bill fails to meaningfully stop the practice of jailing people for violating the rules of probation that do not rise to the level of a new crime.

If this legislation passes, Harrisburg politicians will congratulate themselves and claim they've achieved reform when they've actually created a mess. Tell your state rep to vote "no" on this bad bill!

In liberty,

Elizabeth Randol
Legislative Director, ACLU of Pennsylvania